The Westlake University School of Life Sciences inaugurated the Center of Bioelectronic Medicine on Aug. 17, and appointed Chair Professor Qiufu Ma as its director. Members of the board, representatives of the School of Life Sciences, and administrative staff attended the ceremony.

President Yigong Shi and Prof. Qiufu Ma inaugurate the Center of Bioelectronic Medicine

The Center of Bioelectronic Medicine aims to promote systems physiology, a blossoming new field of research, as the connecting point between modern science and traditional medicine in the hope of finding new ways to treat chronic diseases.

Ma received his bachelor's degree from Fudan University in 1987 and his Ph.D. degree from UCLA in 1994. From 1994 to 1998, he underwent postdoctoral training, first at Bristol-Myers Squibb and then at Caltech. In early 1999, he became an assistant professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School. He became a full professor in 2011. Ma was a CUSBEA (China–United States Biochemistry Examination and Application) student in 1988 and a Pew Scholar in 2000. In the fall of 2022, he joined Westlake University as a chair professor and director of the Center of Bioelectronic Medicine.

Ma worked for 23 years at Harvard Medical School, where he made outstanding contributions to understanding the transmission of pain in the spinal cord circuit. However, despite decades of research, researchers on pain transmission have yet to make a significant breakthrough. Numerous molecular targets have been found, but researchers have not yet produced a safe, non-addictive, new painkiller.

It takes courage and perseverance to tackle challenges in science. “Our long-term goal is to conduct intervention and treatment from the source and discover new ways to treat chronic disease,” Ma said. “We are especially interested in applying physical stimulation, such as acupuncture, to activate nerve pathways for regulating inflammation. We hope to find effective ways to manage sepsis, chronic pain, gastrointestinal diseases, and neurological diseases.” The Center of Bioelectronic Medicine will also serve to promote interaction and maximization between disciplines, and communication and resource pooling among labs.

Prof. Qiufu Ma

Westlake President Yigong Shi was just as hopeful. “There’s no better time to marry modern science with traditional medicine than now. I believe that, under Prof. Ma’s leadership, the Center of Bioelectronic Medicine will make major discoveries in the treatment of chronic diseases.”